…and I just finally realized why one of their favorite taunts is “you don’t think for yourselves, you just wait for someone to tell you what to think.” (not that they don’t do that up to 11, but.) The reason that they do this is because they think making up their own version what they prefer to believe in, and rejecting actual events which conflict with their invented mental constructs is totally right and normal. They’re mocking us for relying on verifiable facts and evidence because, in their minds, it means we refuse to make up our own version of reality in our heads and reject parts of actual reality that conflict with this. I used to have this problem myself, but close calls with an actual cult or two has somewhat cured me of this. I’ve learned to realize when I’m doing it, and when I see other people doing it. But they’re holding up confirmation bias and rationalization as positive traits. When confronted with evidence, they double down on the fantasy. Of course this means that conservatism in America today has morphed into an actual cult. See also: When Prophesy Fails.